


A Family Affair

by ladyoakenshields



Series: Of Parenthood and Rebellions [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Mentions of childbirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 03:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15040124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyoakenshields/pseuds/ladyoakenshields
Summary: Kanan struggles with the idea of starting a family since it seems like it's at odds with the Jedi way and seeks the advice of the only other Jedi Dad™ he knows - Anakin Skywalker. Family moments, ahoy!





	A Family Affair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainglazed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainglazed/gifts).



> For [rainglazed](http://rainglazed.tumblr.com/) who screamed w me about family things after the Rebel finale and we threw this idea around so it was fun to actually flesh it out!
> 
> This is kind of a [vague hand gestures] AU where I don't know how any of this happened but, the Skywalkers are all alive and a family. Padmé's the Chancellor of the Rebellion, Anakin didn't fall to the dark side, but the Jedi were still eradicated by Order 66. 
> 
> Also, Kanan is alive, because of course he is. 
> 
> Rogue One squad is all fine too, there are vague mentions of them in there. 
> 
> tbh this is just an excuse to write all my faves, so uh, enjoy!

“Master Skywalker… I was wondering if you had a moment?” Kanan asked.

“Jedi business?” Padmé asked as she prepared to make herself sparse.

“Erm, yes, but please, Chancellor Amidala, I seek your advice as well,” Kanan replied.

“My advice?” Padmé’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“If you don’t mind,” Kanan ducked his gaze to the floor, feeling a little nervous in front of the leader of the Rebellion and legendary Jedi Master Skywalker. But he was incredibly excited about the news and wanted to share it with whoever he could.

“Very well,” Padmé nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

“I just found out… I mean I had a feeling, but… well, Hera just told me… she’s expecting—I mean, we’re going to be parents,” Kanan explained hesitantly, but a grin appeared on his face.

“Oh, my goodness, congratulations!” Padmé beamed. “I’m so happy for you both.”

Anakin smiled and remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. Padmé grabbed his arm, and he glanced over at her, his smile widening. Kanan wondered if they were thinking back to when they discovered they would be parents.

“So, what can we help you with?” Anakin prompted Kanan.

“I can’t help but feel… I’m excited, of course, I am. I’m beyond excited. I’m just…”

“Conflicted?” Anakin asked quietly.

“Ani,” Padmé sighed in a scolding tone.

“Yes,” Kanan confirmed, and Padmé looked chagrined. “Conflicted. I know I was only fourteen when the Republic fell, but I still feel the pressure… the weight of the Jedi way of life and I’m terrified of the… of the attachment this could bring and that—”

“Love leads to fear, fear to anger, anger to hate?” Anakin supplied the old Jedi mantra.

“Yes. I thought I could manage my relationship with Hera. We’ve always known to refrain from attachment, and focus on the mission at hand. Especially with this life,” Kanan looked around the rebel base. “But it’s… more complicated with a child, I’d imagine. I just wanted to know… you guys started a family before the Jedi fell. How did you…?” Kanan looked imploringly at Anakin.

“It wasn’t easy,” Padmé answered before Anakin could. “We nearly lost Ani to the fear, the anger, the hate… but in the end, it was love that saved him.”

“What my wife is trying to say,” Anakin interrupted, “is that having a family doesn’t have to lead you to the dark side. You have something to fight for. You must look at it as a strength rather than a weakness.”

Kanan nodded solemnly.

“Lighten up, Jarrus. You’re going to be a father,” Anakin’s face broke into a grin. Behind him, Padmé laughed.

“Th-thank you, Master,” Kanan smiled. “Thank you, Chancellor.”

“Give General Syndulla our congratulations,” Padmé nodded in response.

“Of course,” Kanan grinned

**x**

The proximity alert sounded throughout the base alerting them the Death Star had just entered the Yavin system. They had retrieved the plans, but at the cost of the Empire tracking them back to their base. They had mere moments once the analyzation of the plans had been completed to formulate a plan.

X-wing pilots now raced across the hangar and Anakin so desperately wanted to join the crowd of pilots and find a ship of his own, but Padmé needed him in the war room. Luke, on the other hand, had just finished gearing up and he was climbing into his own X-wing as Artoo was loaded into the ship.

“Be careful, buddy,” Anakin called to the droid. “Take care of him, Luke,” Anakin then addressed his son.

“It’s more likely he’ll be taking care of me,” Luke laughed as he sat in the cockpit and began the pre-flight routine.

“Luke,” Anakin called, and Luke’s blond head bobbed up again. “May the Force be with you.”

Luke nodded and settled the helmet on his head, doing the straps to secure it on. As the cockpit closed, Anakin turned and left the hangar as the ships took off. He returned to find Padmé, pacing anxiously at the holo-table, but she wasn’t even looking at the flight formations that were beginning to blink on screen.

“Hey,” Anakin pulled her out of her thoughts. Padmé glanced up and knit her brows. “What’s wrong? Other than the fact Yavin 4 might be blown off the map in about five minutes…”

“Hera. She just went into labor,” Padmé told him anxiously. Anakin’s stomach dropped.

“Probably could have used her on this mission with her skills,” Anakin muttered.

“Anakin,” Padmé retorted sternly.

“Sorry, I know. Not the time to... uh, is she alright? Kanan? Is he with her?” Anakin asked anxiously. Ever since his nightmares about Luke and Leia’s traumatic birth, childbirth, in general, scared him. It didn’t help that it came at now of all times and she was one of their best pilots and generals in the entire Rebellion. Her entire squad… her family was crucial to the rebellion, and he couldn’t bear to think what would happen if they lost her.

“He’s with her, but with the Death Star approaching, everyone’s at their posts… there are not many people to spare in the med bay right now.”

“Well, hopefully, we all live through this,” Anakin breathed, turning his attention back to the screens and he focused on the small symbol that represented Luke’s X-wing. He spotted his daughter across the table, her eyes also trained on the dot that represented Red Leader.

**x**

Anakin made his way through the bustling hall of the med bay, Leia trailing behind him, as they both looked for Padmé. They’d agreed to meet and check in on Hera and her family together, but he had a feeling she’d be late with the evacuation underway.

Before he could make a decision about entering General Syndulla’s room, he heard her voice from inside sounding panicked and angry.

“You have to let me help with the evacuation!” Hera argued.

“Hera, please. There are plenty of people on base who can manage without you. It’s bad enough you had to go fight on Scarif in your state, now you want to take off again?” Kanan’s voice retorted.

Anakin waited just outside the med bay, not wanting to intrude and would rather Padmé interrupt their feud instead of him. He looked at Leia for help, but she looked just as hesitant to break up the argument between the Rebellion general and her husband. The entire medical ward could probably hear them argue, despite the bustle of the evacuation Rebel base.

“Hera, you should listen to Kanan. You must be exhausted!” Sabine’s voice interjected. “Let everyone else do something, for once.” Leia glanced back at the door to the room Hera was in, her attention piqued as she heard her friend’s voice inside. Before either of them could make a decision to interrupt, Padmé and Luke arrived.

“Sounds like quite the, erm… disagreement is going on,” Padmé muttered as she reached out to take Anakin’s hand to lead him over to the room, the twins following behind them. Padmé nodded for him to follow her as she knocked briefly and opened the door wider.

“I hope we aren’t interrupting,” Padmé announced themselves to the room.

Hera was standing beside the bed, looking exhausted as she pulled on her flight suit and fastened the clasps, while Kanan looked defensive. Sabine sat in a corner with a bundle of blankets in her arms next to Ketsu and Chopper, whose vocalizations almost sounded concerned.

Anakin snorted softly. In all the time he’d known the C1 unit, it was always boisterous and rude, so it was bizarre seeing this behavior from the droid. But it was Hera, and he knew the droid cared for the rebellion general and her family the same way Artoo did about his own family.

“Chancellor Amidala,” Kanan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Can you please tell Hera she doesn’t need to help evacuate the base? She won’t listen to me, but she might listen to you.”

“Hera, everything’s being taken care of,” Padmé tried to assure her. Hera looked unconvinced, but she didn’t dare argue with the Chancellor.

“Fine,” Hera pursed her lips, and eventually she spotted the kids behind them. “Luke,” she called to the young Skywalker still in his own flight suit.

“General?” Luke seemed startled that she singled him out.

“Nice flying, kid,” Hera smiled. “I heard all about your feat with the Death Star.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without your training… between you and my Dad, I’m gonna be the best pilot in the Rebellion.” Luke puffed out his chest.

“Don’t get too cocky, kid. You haven’t forgotten I still fly for the Rebellion, have you?” Hera folded her arms with a smirk.

“Of course not, General Syndulla!” Luke looked chagrined, and Leia smothered her laughter beside him. “Hey, knock it off.” Luke snapped at his sister with a teasing smile on his face as he shoved her a bit. She grinned and pushed him back.

“Can you two please behave. You’re almost twenty now, come on, can you act a little more mature, please?” Anakin scolded.

“That’s rich, coming from you, Skyguy,” another voice called from the doorway.

“Aunt Ahsoka!” the twins exclaimed in unison, turning to rush and give her a hug.

“There's my favorite pair of twins!”

“We’re the only pair of twins you know,” Leia laughed.

“I can’t say you’re my favorite Skywalkers. Your parents are right there...” Anakin rolled his eyes. “...and I can’t say you’re my favorite kids, because Syndulla’s kids are right there! And you know Sabine will tell Ezra, and he’ll make it into a whole _thing—”_ Ahsoka explained in a pseudo-hushed voice.

“Hey, Snips,” Anakin finally interjected, “didn’t think we’d see you until after the evac.” He went to embrace her after the twins had their turn. “Have you heard from Obi-wan recently?”

“No, he’s been harder and harder to get a hold of recently,” Ahsoka sighed. “I’ll brief you on my findings later. But for now... I heard we had a new addition to the family and couldn’t keep myself away,” Ahsoka looked over to where the Twi’lek rebellion general was taking the fussy bundle of blankets from Sabine. Hera looked up and gave a tired smile to her Torgruta friend.

“He seems to be quite popular,” Hera laughed as she came over, adjusting the blankets in her arms to reveal the baby.

“What’s his name?” Ahsoka asked as she peeked at the baby in Hera’s arms.

“Jacen,” Hera told her.

“Hello, Jacen, it’s nice to meet you,” Ahsoka grinned and Jacen squirmed a bit in his mother’s arms but didn’t wake up.

“I suspect he’ll grow into his coloring,” Hera gently ran a finger over his splotchy green patches of skin, and Padmé stepped closer also to see the newest addition.

“And look at that, he’s got Kanan’s brow and nose. Think he’ll grow into those?” Ahsoka snorted.

“Hey,” Kanan snapped, but he was smiling too. “That’s my son you’re talking about.”

“And he’s beautiful,” Padmé added before Ahsoka could tease him any further. “I’m glad you had a safe delivery, and the both of you are all right after all the… the excitement we’ve had.”

“She practically delivered him herself, since there was hardly anyone around to help.” Kanan smiled.

“Yeah, well, leave it to Hera to go into labor as a planet-killing mega weapon shows up,” Sabine rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Hardly my fault,” Hera returned the smile.

“Hey, no way! The Skywalkers beat us here, Zeb! I told you, you were taking too long!” another voice sounded from the doorway.

“Ezra!” Kanan barked, half in a scolding tone for being so loud, but also the excitement that his padawan was there bled through.

“Where’s my new baby brother?” Ezra pushed his way past the Chancellor and her family, not caring about protocol at the moment.

“You heard it was a boy?” Kanan smiled.

“Yes, and Sabine owes me twenty credits,” Ezra beamed at Sabine who shook her head and sighed.

“Well, come and say hello,” Hera smiled at him, and Ezra hunched over the bundle of blankets.

“I can’t believe it,” Ezra sighed as Hera carefully handed Jacen over to Ezra. “I can’t believe he has Kanan’s eyebrows. Poor kid...”

Ahsoka snorted and laughed in agreement.

“I had no idea everyone felt so strongly about my eyebrows,” Kanan folded his arms across his chest.

“They’re wonderful, dear, and our son will grow into them nicely,” Hera smiled as she gently touched Kanan’s face, her thumb smoothing over one of his brows and grazing the burn scar across his eyes.

“Oh, look at that he even has some of Hera’s coloring!” Zeb exclaimed excitedly.

“Zeb, shut up, you’re gonna wake him,” Ezra hissed as Jacen squirmed in his arms.

“I’m actually surprised he hasn’t woken up yet with all of our visitors,” Hera chuckled as she watched Ezra smile down at Jacen.

“Well, we have much to do, so we’ll let you rest with your family,” Padmé finally excused themselves from the room.

“I should be helping out too,” Ketsu stood up. “I’ll catch up with you later, Bean,” Ketsu promised, leaning down and pecking Sabine on the lips.

“Luke,” Ezra looked up as the Skywalker family turned to leave. “Find me later, I want to go over some more Lightsaber forms. And I talked to Master Îmwe, he said he’d help us with some training once he and Baze have healed a little more. We could go check on them and see how they’re doing.”

“Sure,” Luke nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Evacuation first, boys. Jedi training later,” Padmé told them sternly.

“I know, Mom,” Luke acknowledged.

“Yes, Chancellor,” Ezra sighed.

“Master Îmwe… he’s the Guardian from Jedha… the team that recovered the Death Star plans, right?” Anakin asked.

“Yep,” Ezra nodded. “Cassian was telling me Master Îmwe is really impressive with his staff and has a different perspective of the Force than the Jedi do… or did… anyway, I think you’d like him, Master Skywalker.”

“Perhaps I’ll pay him a visit as well then,” Anakin decided. “Ahsoka?” Anakin looked to his former padawan. She gave him a fond smile and nodded, gesturing for him to follow her out of the room.

Anakin followed Luke and Ahsoka, and Padmé gave Hera one last smile before resting her hand on Leia’s shoulder as they followed the rest of their family out of the room.

“All right, that’s enough excitement for now. Hera, you rest. The kids and I will go see what we can do to help the evacuation on your behalf.” Kanan smirked, hoping that would satiate her need to help with the evacuation, while still getting her to rest.

“Wait,” Ezra stopped them as he adjusted his hold on Jacen in his arms. “Can’t we all stay a little longer? We’ve been apart while running missions… I like having the family together again.”

“So do I,” Hera reached out and put her hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “But the Empire’s going to be here as soon as they can. The evacuation takes precedence.”

“How about this,” Kanan interjected, “Ezra, you stay here with Hera. She needs someone to watch Jacen while she rests. When the evacuation is done, we’ll spend some time together. All of us.”

“No, it should be you who stays here,” Ezra sighed. “I’ll go with Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper.”

“Try not to sound so depressed about it,” Zeb gently teased him and Chopper garbled something that sounded bitter.

“Be nice, Chopper,” Hera sighed.

“He’s gotten such an attitude,” Sabine laughed. “I think he’s worried he’s not the favorite anymore.”

“Ezra, just stay with Hera,” Kanan assured him. “Stay with your little brother.”

Ezra grinned.

“Yeah, I’m gonna like this little brother the best I think,” Sabine remarked as she stood up and stretched and Zeb laughed.

“Hey!” Ezra frowned. “Just go help with the evacuation.”

“Only a minute ago you wanted all of us to spend time together,” Zeb laughed.

“Well, I changed my mind. You can all go,” Ezra took a seat at the end of Hera’s bed.

Kanan sighed and shook his head before leaning down and giving Hera a quick kiss and a lingering smile.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Kanan said and left the room behind Sabine and Zeb.

**x**

“...and then the Inquisitor was on top of us. I was pushed off the landing, and it was all left up to Kanan—your dad! Not only did he save me but he destroyed the Inquisitor! He’s one of the best Jedi, I know, better than Master Skywalker and maybe one day you’ll be a Jedi like Kanan and me. Or you’ll be an amazing pilot like your mother… or you’ll be both, and you’ll be better than all of us…”

Kanan stood outside and listened to Ezra’s soft talking. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was talking to Hera, but it became evident quickly, the conversation wasn’t for Hera’s benefit.

Kanan knocked softly on the door and let himself in. Now that the sun had set the room was cooler than it had been that afternoon and Hera’s soft snores filled the room. Kanan was relieved she was finally asleep. It hadn’t seemed as if she had slept at all recently. He wasn’t sure how she was still functioning enough to demand to be part of the evacuation only hours after giving birth.

“Oh, Kanan,” Ezra sounded a little startled.

Ezra shifted a little, careful not to wake Hera who was sleeping soundly beside Ezra, her head resting on his shoulder. He was surprised to see Kanan back again, but he realized the entire afternoon had already passed. Jacen was awake and fussy, but Ezra didn’t want to wake Hera just yet, which is when he decided to tell Jacen some stories about their family. While Ezra talked, Jacen didn’t seem so cranky.

“How’s the evacuation going?” Ezra asked quietly.

“Bad news is we’re going to be dispatched to find a new base of operations. Good news, we’re being dispatched. The Spectres will be departing Yavin onboard the Ghost.”

“It’ll be like the old days,” Ezra smiled softly. “Just us on the Ghost.”

“With one difference,” Kanan glanced at the bundle of blankets Ezra was now holding.

“I suppose this means Jacen is Spectre-7.” Ezra grinned.

“Whoa, whoa, let’s wait a bit to give him his official call sign,” Kanan folded his arms.

“All right,” Ezra chuckled looking back down at Jacen.

Hera began to wake up and smiled when she saw Kanan at the end of the bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Ezra remarked. “I think Jacen’s about done with me.”

“I’ve got ‘im,” Kanan came around the side of the bed and sat down taking the bundle of blankets from Ezra. Jacen made some distressed noises, which threatened a crying spell.

“Your mask,” Hera sat up and reached for Kanan’s mask that covered his scarred eyes. “It’s scaring him.”

“And the gruesome scars underneath won’t?” Kanan allowed her to remove the mask.

“Actually, I just think he needs a change,” Ezra made a face as a reaction to the smell.

“And probably needs to be fed,” Hera sighed as she laid back against the bed.

“I’ll go see what I can do to help with the evacuation now that Kanan’s here,” Ezra pulled himself off the bed.

“Oh, yeah, Luke was looking for you,” Kanan told him. “He and Master Skywalker went to go see Master Îmwe, who’s feeling much better.”

“Oh, right! Thanks,” Ezra grabbed his gloves and jacket.

“Remember, there’ll be plenty of time to training, make sure evacuation is your priority or Chancellor Amidala won’t be happy with any of you!” Hera called.

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Ezra waved before heading for the door.

Kanan sighed as he took Jacen over to the small makeshift changing table set up in the room. The Rebellion med bay wasn’t properly set up as a maternity ward. Kanan began to change the diaper, and Hera slowly got up from the bed and pulled her robe closer to her body as she walked over to where Kanan and Jacen were. She rested her cheek against his shoulder as she looked down at their son.

“Moments like this I’m really glad I can’t see,” Kanan teased softly.

“But you can still smell,” Hera chuckled.

“Unfortunately,” Kanan sighed. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit better after getting a nap,” Hera admitted. “Thanks for taking charge with the evacuation.”

“I don’t know if ‘taking charge’ is really the right phrase here,” Kanan admitted as he pulled the new diaper on Jacen. “I’m just helping out wherever Chancellor Amidala sees fit. Sabine and Ketsu have made quite a bit of progress cataloging and packing away ammunition and explosives for transport, Zeb and Kallus have been helping to organize ground support during the evac along with helping to dismantle and transport as much equipment as we can... “

“Did I hear we’ve been assigned to go out scouting for a new base?” Hera asked.

“You were awake enough to hear that, hm?” Kanan laughed. “Yeah, we have along with whoever else we can spare to search. Rex has already volunteered to look through his list of potential locations from the Clone Wars again to see if there’s anywhere else we could use.”

“We’ve exhausted that list,” Hera sighed.

“Well we’ll have to find somewhere else then,” Kanan shrugged. “In the meantime, the Ghost will always be our home.”

Hera smiled and nuzzled her face into the fabric of Kanan’s sleeve. Kanan finished swaddling Jacen who had settled down now that he was clean and Hera reached out to take Jacen into her arms.

Despite the hectic atmosphere of the Rebellion, Kanan couldn't be happier as he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. She gave a content sigh as she leaned into the touch.

“I love you,” Hera breathed softly. Instead of a verbal response, Kanan tipped her chin upwards and kissed her gently.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @ [kvberhearts](http://kvberhearts.tumblr.com/)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Of Motherhood and Rebellion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17202641) by [ReySkyrissian (ErinacchiLove)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinacchiLove/pseuds/ReySkyrissian)




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